


news travels fast

by yawwwrp



Category: K-pop, Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awkward Dates, Dating, Declarations Of Love, Drinking Games, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, News Media, TV News, Workplace, seungmin and jeongin are bosses bc they deserve it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:48:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28900662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yawwwrp/pseuds/yawwwrp
Summary: Changbin, Jisung and Felix start working as assistants at the news station where Changbin's celebrity crush, news anchor Lee Minho works.A story about Minho being dumb when it comes to love, Changbin making several points, Jisung living in denial, Felix and Chan being everyone's sweethearts and Hyunjin being sassy.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Felix, Han Jisung | Han/Hwang Hyunjin, Lee Minho | Lee Know/Seo Changbin
Comments: 135
Kudos: 127





	1. The Newbies

**Author's Note:**

> hello everyone! :D
> 
> so okay this idea just kind of came out of nowhere idk man  
> lemme know what yall think and if you think i should keep going with this or if we should just pretend this never happened lmao
> 
> can't wait for the weekend, I hope you're all staying strong until then! :D

Life as they know it is officially over as Changbin, Jisung and Felix pack their belongings in the newspaper’s office and head towards the exit of the building.

“What are we going to do now?”, Jisung whines. “It’s so hard to find a job these days.”

The newspaper they had been working at for years now shut down this morning and they are now effectively jobless.

“The only thing we can do”, Felix mumbles as he shoves the box of office supplies he took into the backseat of his car. “Drink. Meet you at the bar in an hour.”

After complaining about losing their jobs and Jisung pouring an entire glass of beer across the table on accident, their conversation finally takes on a lighter note - namely, Felix’s non-existent love life.

“As if you guys go on any dates.”

“That’s not the point!” Jisung waggles a finger in front of Felix’s face. “I could if I wanted to!”

Felix just raises an eyebrow at him and turns to Changbin. “What’s your excuse?”

“I’m just… not interested right now.” He checks his watch, seven-thirty already. “Actually, guys, I’m gonna have to head out.”

Jisung rolls his eyes at Changbin and flags down the waitress to order another round while Felix sighs. “Is this about your weird obsession with the news anchor again?”

“It’s not a weird obsession! He’s just good at his job and it doesn’t hurt to be updated on current events.” Even Changbin knows his excuse is flimsy.

Still, he pays his bill and leaves Felix and Jisung to commiserate together for a bit longer while he makes his way home.

Changbin watches as news anchor Lee Minho talks about the day’s events and kind of zones out a bit. Okay, so he’s attractive. But it is true that he’s good at his job - to Changbin it seems like he is actually quite knowledgeable though maybe he really is just reading the script. If so, he would be a good actor, Changbin thinks.

And really, what’s so wrong about having a celebrity crush on a news anchor?

Two weeks later, Jisung and Felix debate over coffee why on earth Changbin asked them to meet at their favorite coffee shop at one in the afternoon.

“Do you think he got like a mail order bride because you made fun of his love life?”

Felix snorts at Jisung’s question and almost burns his tongue on the hot coffee. “More like a mail order groom.”

Changbin enters the coffee shop just a second after the sentence leaves Felix’s mouth and he sits down across the two of them with a wide grin. He foregoes any hellos and just jumps right into his urgent matter that he contacted them about.

“We have new jobs, my friends!”

Felix and Jisung exchange a confused look and it takes Felix a second longer to catch up so Jisung opens his mouth first. “What do you mean? We haven’t heard back from any company we applied for-”

“Oh no, no. I applied for all three of us. It’s a once in a lifetime chance”, Changbin cuts him off. “The biggest news station is looking for assistants and they said that after you’re an assistant for a year, you can get a full time position in research or journalism.”

His blinding smile doesn’t falter even when Felix and Jisung roll their eyes at him and let out exasperated sighs.

“You didn’t tell them we’ll take the job, right? I don’t want to be some tv personality's personal assistant”, Jisung groans.

Changbin lets out a chuckle. “We start on Monday.”

The bosses they meet on their first day look barely their own age and Jisung feels even more doubtful about this job than he already did before. Seungmin, their higher power apparently, shows them around the building and reminds them that they have to pass the assistant period first before they can get a higher position and as they take in their new workspace, both Jisung and Felix start to lose hope in this whole thing.

Changbin on the other hand walks around with big eyes, happy to be working at the biggest news station. They pass the news set and Changbin’s eyes land on Lee Minho, in real life, not on tv for once. And if he looked great on tv, well he looks even better in person.

Before they know it, they are being led into a meeting room again and Seungmin leaves them with their department’s supervisor Jeongin, a fresh faced young guy with a twinkle in his eye.

“Alright, first off - welcome and we are happy to have you working with us!”

He hands them all their company ID cards and gestures towards the glass walls of the meeting room. “These gentlemen are who you will be working for.”

Changbin recognizes the two men who enter - Hwang Hyunjin who leads the lifestyle news segment and somehow always looks like he just stepped off a fashion show runway, and Bang Chan, the charismatic weatherman who makes even a week of rain sound like a fantastic thing.

“Lee Felix, you will be assigned to Bang Chan. Han Jisung, you’ll be assisting Hwang Hyunjin. Basically, just do whatever they tell you to and you’ll be fine. You’re free to go - Chan, Hyunjin, show them around.”

The four of them leave the meeting room and leave behind a slightly nervous Jeongin and a confused Changbin.

“Uhm, sorry but… are you not hiring me?” Changbin’s question sounds much less confident than he wanted to sound on his first day.

Jeongin waves his hands around. “Not at all! Uh, actually the person you are assigned to is unfortunately not here right now… even though he should be.”

The last part of his sentence was grumbled out between gritted teeth and Changbin senses that whoever he is assigned to is not a very pleasant person to be around.

“May I ask… who’s assistant am I?”

“Okay, first of all - fuck you again for accepting that job on our behalf, Bin”, Jisung rants around a mouthful of food in the evening. He’s currently lounging on Felix’s couch and Felix glares at him in an attempt to threaten him not to get any crumbs on the couch.

“I’m stuck with fucking Hyunjin! He is the  _ worst _ ! I hate him.”

Felix sighs. “Don’t be like this, he’s not that bad.”

“Says you. You got lucky with Chan.”

Felix shrugs and picks up a slice of pizza. It’s true, Chan is extremely friendly and nice and his first day was really enjoyable.

“All I’m saying is, don’t be so judgemental. Besides, I think Binnie’s got the worst luck out of us.”

Changbin groans in response. When Jeongin told him that he will be Minho’s assistant, Changbin was overjoyed at first. He would finally get to work with his idol, how could this get any better? However, throughout the day, his happiness and motivation dropped steadily.

No matter who they talked to, everyone said Minho was either rude or cold or just an asshole and that his assistants generally quit after a week.

“It’s just a year. We can hold on for a year and then move up the corporate ladder”, Changbin responds eventually. It comes out more like a lie he’s telling himself than an empowering speech to his friends.

The next day, Changbin is at work earlier than expected though Minho is still nowhere to be seen when he is actually supposed to be there. He makes a trip down the hallway to the vending machine to get a drink and curses under his breath when he realizes he’s a coin short.

He kicks the vending machine lightly with his foot when a hand suddenly reaches over his shoulder from behind, throwing in the missing coin.

Changbin turns around startled, only to find Minho standing in front of him. Minho’s eyes flicker down to Changbin’s company ID and a smile creeps across his face. Before Changbin can get a word out, Minho winks at him.

“So you’re my new assistant, huh?”


	2. Drinking games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yoooooo~
> 
> tomorrow's update will be late in the day bc i need to catch some sleep (also s3 of busted is FINALLY out!!!!!!)
> 
> but i hope you like this in the meantime and i wish you all a great start to the weekend! :D

Over the course of the next two days, Felix gushes over Chan, Changbin won’t shut up about the Minho encounter and Jisung keeps ranting about Hyunjin.

First of all, Felix and Chan are basically attached at the hip, getting on like a house on fire and there is laughter wherever they go, an undeniably happy atmosphere following them around like the scent cloud that attaches itself to you after you leave a perfume store.

As for Changbin, The Minho Incident was actually the only time Minho directly spoke with him. Since then, Changbin hasn’t seen Minho as he apparently is currently home sick with a cold and Changbin is assigned to help out his replacement in the meantime.

And Jisung? Well, him and Hyunjin don’t really see eye to eye… yet. Both of them give as good as they get which leads to many instances of them bickering like an old married couple and everyone tries to steer clear of them as much as possible.

On day three, Changbin is surprised to actually see Minho at work again. He seems to be healthy again and even gives Changbin a friendly smile as a hello though he gets ignored for most of the time with Minho checking in with various departments. Changbin is pretty sure that that’s not actually part of his job description but it seems that Minho is just generally curious and nobody wants to tell him to just sit there and look pretty for the camera.

Generally it seems like no one really wants to deal with Minho unless it is absolutely necessary. Changbin feels kind of bad for Minho but he doesn’t seem to be particularly upset about it.

After a team meeting the next day, all employees kind of storm the coffee shop in the building to unwind from the unnecessarily long meeting. Jisung, Chan and Felix already grabbed a corner table and are waiting there for Changbin who got in line a bit later than them and is still waiting for his order. By the time he holds his coffee in one hand and his phone in the other, he tries to squeeze his way through a crowd of employees to Jisung, Chan and Felix, but gets stopped halfway by someone pulling on the arm he’s using to hold his phone.

“Sit with me.” Minho looks up at him from the small table surrounded by employees who are keeping a distance to him, like a lonely island in a sea full of sharks.

Changbin’s eyes dart from him over to his friends’ table and then back to Minho. Jisung and Felix surely understand.

“Is he really just abandoning us in favor of news boy?” Jisung crashes his fist down on the table. “Unbelievable.”

Chan hums next to him. “Interesting. Minho always sits alone.”

It is kind of awkward sitting with Minho. For a while they just sit there in silence drinking their coffees and the crowd in front of the counter eventually disperses. Changbin looks over to Minho to find him shamelessly staring at him.

“Is there something on my face?”

He earns a grin from Minho who shakes his head. “No, just looking.”

Changbin bites back a comment on how he’s not a shop window and clears his throat. “Can I ask you something?”

Minho raises an eyebrow at him. “Shoot.”

“I noticed that you never really hang out with anyone… why aren’t you close with anyone here? You’ve been working here for a while.”

The question comes out more direct than Changbin intended and he winces a little at the delivery. He half expects Minho to get angry at him but Minho just looks kind of hurt for a moment before he plasters on a smile again. 

“I have no need to be close to anyone.”

For the rest of the day, Changbin can’t get Minho’s reaction and words out of his mind. It’s like he saw some cracks in the facade for once and he feels sad for Minho. Even if you are extremely introverted you would still have at least one friend in your workplace, no?

Changbin’s phone buzzes around an hour before they get off work.

**_Sungie:_ ** _ drinks 2nite? _

**_Lix:_ ** _ yessssssssss _

**_Bini:_ ** _ ok! _

As Changbin looks up from his phone, he sees Minho at the news desk, reading through notes. He watches the filming and once they are done and Minho steps off the set, Changbin grabs him by the arm.

“Do you want to go out for drinks after work?”

Minho looks surprised and lets out a little chuckle. “Seriously?”

Changbin nods and thinks for a moment that maybe he shouldn’t have asked. Maybe this was a stupid idea.

“Sure, why not.”

Felix and Jisung are  _ annoyed _ . They are sitting next to each other across from Minho and Changbin in a booth at their favorite bar and the awkward silence in the air is so heavy that you could probably cut it with a knife.

“So how did you-”

“I heard you-”

Felix and Minho start their sentences at the same time and stop once they realize they interrupted the other, leaving them all to sit there without saying anything again.

Changbin has never been good with awkwardness and uncomfortable situations. Never. This is no exception.

“Okay, this is weird.”

Minho clears his throat and gets ready to get up and leave. “I should go-”

“No!” Changbin pulls him back down on the seat again. “No, I mean. We should drink. Let’s play a drinking game.”

“A drinking game.” Minho gives him a judgemental look. “Like spin the bottle?”

Jisung chokes on his drink from laughter and Felix claps him on the back furiously while Changbin turns as red as a tomato.

“That’s not what I meant!”

Curse Changbin and his stupid ideas. Somehow, he is the only one who is constantly drinking because of the stupid drinking game app he downloaded on his phone and he is pretty sure that the makers of the game have some sort of personal grudge against him.

“Binnie, your turn!” Felix taps on the phone and pushes a drink closer to Changbin. “Take a sip and sit on the lap of the most interesting person in the room.”

Jisung leans back a little bit to give Changbin access to his lap. “Okay, c’mon Bin, I know I’m very interesting-”

Changbin plops down on Minho’s lap and is too drunk to notice the surprised noise that escapes Minho and the shocked expressions on Jisung and Felix’s faces.

“I choose Minho, because he’s” A hiccup interrupts Changbin’s explanation and he throws his arms around Minho’s neck, leaning his face against the side of Minho’s head. “Because he’s not only pretty. But like, more. More than just pretty.”


	3. A certain kind of understanding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayooo!
> 
> k so i wrote this chapter while dyeing my hair and almost forgot to wash out the bleach lmao
> 
> hope you enjoy this! some of the chapters for this story are a little longer and some are a little shorter, sorry consistency has never been my strength :(
> 
> have a lovely day/night! :D

What’s worse - having the absolute mother of all hangovers or having your friends make fun of you for basically hitting on your coworker? Changbin does not know the answer to that and wishes that both of those things would just stop.

When Changbin wakes up around ten in the morning, he feels like his head is splitting into two and goes to throw up before he does anything else. When he returns and checks his almost out of battery phone, he finds multiple group chat messages of Jisung and Felix making fun of him and a very incriminating picture of Changbin on Minho’s lap and suddenly the hangover seems like the least of Changbin’s worries.

He sinks down on the edge of his bed and runs a hand through his hair while staring at his phone. In the picture, even though Changbin is clearly very drunk, you can see that his eyes are crinkled into a smile of adoration at Minho who he holds and hugs very close while Minho looks shocked, to put it mildly.

Another rush of nausea comes over Changbin but he knows there’s nothing left in his stomach to throw up and eventually he just crawls back into bed, messages left unanswered, and wills himself back to sleep in hopes of waking up to a reality where none of that ever happened last night.

Changbin spends most of his Sunday agonizing over what happened on Friday night and pointedly ignores every single teasing message his friends send whilst spending his time in what he calls The Shame Cube.

Monday comes around way faster than Changbin wants it to and while Jisung is complaining about having to spend hours listening to Hyunjin’s latest gossip and Felix swoons over Chan’s giggle, all he can think about is how to ever look Minho in the eyes again.

As soon as they enter the building, Jisung grumpily storms off to Hyunjin and Felix skips away to Chan and Changbin is left hesitantly making his way towards Minho’s small office slash backstage room.

He enters the room to find Minho with a few pages in hand, glasses on his nose, reading through an article on his laptop and for a moment Changbin has to catch his breath because his heart does a little skip. But then he remembers The Incident and he can feel his cheeks heating up when he greets Minho awkwardly.

“Hi there.”

Minho slowly turns his head away from the laptop towards Changbin and cracks a smile. “Hi.”

They just kind of look at each other for a minute before Changbin clears his throat. “Uhm, what’s the- uh, what’s the agenda. You know, for today?”

Minho huffs a laugh and pushes his glasses further up on his nose, a gesture that Changbin shouldn’t find as endearing as he does, probably. “Are you feeling better? I assume you’ve had a pretty bad hangover on Saturday?”

He probably meant it in a teasing way, though it comes off as a genuinely caring question and Changbin shuffles his feet for a moment, eyes fixed on the floor. “Uhm, yeah. Sorry about… you know.”

“Don’t be sorry.”

When Changbin looks back up at Minho, he gives Changbin a sly grin and turns back to the laptop. “I don’t really have anything planned until we have to record so feel free to do whatever. There’s a meeting at one though.”

Jeongin smiles widely at the group of employees gathered in the meeting room. “So we will meet there at eight and just have a nice time.”

Seungmin nods in agreement and adds, “Food and drink will be taken care of by the company, of course.”

There’s a few quiet, or in Chan’s case loud, happy noises at that and that’s basically how the team meeting ends. Jeongin and Seungmin leave the room discussing something about after-barbeque-activities while the rest of their team slowly leaves the meeting room, leaving only the core six - Jisung, Hyunjin, Chan, Felix, Changbin and a bored looking Minho tapping on his phone - behind.

“Why would they have a team event on a Monday?”, Jisung asks.

Hyunjin runs a hand through his hair and rolls his eyes at Jisung. “God. Can’t you just be happy for free drinks, food and office gossip?”

“It’s a fair question though”, Chan interjects, “But at least we get to hang out a bit! We can bond! Aren’t you guys excited?”

Changbin really appreciates Chan and Felix trying to hype them up but his very recent memories of going out with coworkers make him stay silent. There’s a bit of small talk happening and while Changbin risks a hesitant glance to Minho who still seems really focused on his phone, Hyunjin lets out a loud whine.

“Why would you even say that? You don’t even know who Jiyeon made out with so far? It’s company knowledge! We have bets, we have a list!”

Jisung snorts at Hyunjin’s complaints. “Sorry, some of us have an actual life, Miss Hwang.”

Hyunjin musters him with a judgemental look for a moment before he smooths his hair back again. “Oh yeah? Does your life include Monster Energy and Fortnite?”

The six usual suspects find themselves outside the barbeque place a few hours later thanks to their ubers and cabs arriving around the same time and they all take a collective deep breath while looking at the entrance.

“I’m not going to drink today. Do not ever let me drink”, Changbin whispers to Jisung and Felix, though it apparently was not quiet enough to not be heard by Minho next to him.

Minho leans a bit towards Changbin with a smirk and murmurs, “That’s a shame. You’re cute when you’re drunk.”

The barbeque is pretty much alright until everyone gathers outside again afterwards and Chan suggests going out for karaoke. Seungmin and Jeongin seem to be more than happy about the suggestion, Felix would literally take a bullet if Chan even slightly alluded to him wanting him to do it, Hyunjin and Jisung are too busy arguing about the correct pronunciation of GIF and Minho is once again just lost staring at his phone while Changbin weighs the pros and cons of tagging along. Since he’s just freshly started and the whole team event is kind of centered around welcoming the new assistants, he feels like he has to come and they all end up at a karaoke place just a block away from the barbeque restaurant.

The night goes on with a few heart felt renditions of pop classics on Jeongin, Felix and Hyunjin’s parts, Chan and Felix turn it into a competition to find the weirdest songs they could possibly find on the song list and Jisung is more than happy to join in on any of them. Changbin mostly just watches them from the sidelines in amusement but after yet another version of Mariah Carey, he feels like he should take a little break and steps outside for a breath of fresh air.

He didn’t notice Minho leaving earlier, but once he leaves the karaoke room, he sees Minho, still dressed in a nice shirt and slacks sitting on the sidewalk, staring off into space. He sits down next to him with a sigh, the muffled sounds of Chan and Felix yelling Don’t Stop Believing in the background.

“You needed a break?”, Minho guesses with a chuckle and Changbin responds with a huffed laugh.

“Yeah, kinda. You’re not on your phone for once?”

Minho turns to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “Are you judging me?”

Okay, shit. Changbin puts his hands up in surrender. “No! Not at all!”

He watches as Minho fumbles for his phone, taps a few buttons and shows it to Changbin, the screen displaying a score tally of some phone game his mother would probably play. “I’m almost on level 80.”

Changbin always thought that Minho is probably being swarmed by countless women or men and just texts with them throughout the day but finding out that all he keeps himself busy with is a ridiculous Candy Crush-esque phone game is endearing to him. There is just something about Minho that Changbin can’t quite put his finger on - one time he’s flirty and arrogant and the next he’s sweet and kind of nerdy. He just can’t figure him out.

Minho puts his phone away again and lets out a long sigh. “I know that people talk behind my back.”

Changbin’s attention gets dragged right back to him as Minho stares down onto the pavement between his feet, fiddling with his fingers. For the first time that evening, Changbin realizes that Minho is actually a little tipsy.

“They don’t particularly like me - I mean, I can’t blame them, I guess. When I started they gave me the anchor job after a year and everyone keeps saying that I just got it because of my looks but I actually have a journalism degree and wanted to work in research. But they won’t let me do that because they say I bring in views.” He pauses for a moment, letting out another sigh. “I worked my ass off as an assistant, you know.”

Changbin hesitates for a second but eventually he reaches out to clasp a hand around Minho’s shoulder. “That really sucks, I’m sorry.”

Minho chuckles and shakes his head. “You remind me of myself a bit, when I started. You’re interested and you have a thirst for knowledge and you know your stuff. Don’t let them shut you down like they did with me.”

Changbin looks over at him and Minho’s sad expression makes his heart ache. “I think you’re very special, you know. You’re not like others… like other news anchors. You can tell.”

Minho looks up at him with a look in his eyes that Changbin can’t quite decipher and the stillness of the night around them gives him goosebumps.


	4. A present

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayooo :D
> 
> i'm really sorry about not updating this over the weekend :(  
> I'm really busy with work so there might only be one or two updates until the weekend, sorry about that! :((
> 
> have a lovely monday and take care everyone! :)

Monday night ends with everyone stumbling their way home eventually and Tuesday at work passes with everyone sluggishly going about their day. Changbin’s phone has been buzzing for the majority of it, while he makes sure all of Minho’s stuff is in order for him to record.

**_Lix:_ ** _ i can’t believe you really think jeongmin’s version of my heart will go on was better than mine and chan’s _

**_Sungie:_ ** _ just date omg i cant watch u 2 swoon over each other while listening to celine it makes me emo _

**_Bini:_ ** _ when did you sing celine dion??? _

**_Lix:_ ** _ when you were out making googly eyes at lee minho _

**_Sungie:_ ** _ N E WAYZ can we talk about hyunjin’s annoying ass moves during shakira _

**_Lix:_ ** _ i know you want to smooch him shut up _

**_Bini:_ ** _ i didn’t make googly eyes we were just talking :( _

Finally at home and settling down on his couch with a relaxing movie, Changbin feels his mind drifting back towards Minho. He’ll be the bigger person and admit that he did have a crush on him back before he actually knew him but now, Changbin is actually not sure what to think about him. He seems nice and friendly and caring, but he tends to also be really cold and have his walls up at all times and Changbin always kind of feels like he’s on his tip toes with him - not just because of the VERY TINY height difference.

He focuses back on the movie but gets distracted again after a little by his doorbell. He grumbles out loud as he gets up to check the doorstep through the peephole but there’s no one outside and so he opens the door to find no one there but a small box on his welcome mat.

Changbin looks around for a moment for anyone who might have dropped it off and wonders if it might be a mail bomb, since the post office doesn’t drop stuff of this late, but he picks it up and takes it inside anyway.

When he opens the package, he finds a really nice expensive looking watch inside with a little card. “There’s a right time for everything”, it reads in neat fine print and Changbin’s brows furrow in confusion. Who on earth would drop a watch off on his doorstep?

**_Bini:_ ** _ if you found an expensive watch on your doorstep what would you do? _

**_Sungie:_ ** _ sell it on ebay _

**_Lix:_ ** _ keep it for the grandkids as an heirloom _

**_Sungie:_ ** _ ^^^boring. Is this a hypothetical question? _

**_Bini:_ ** _ someone left a watch on my doorstep _

**_Lix:_ ** _ omg nice free money _

**_Bini:_ ** _ i want to return it _

**_Sungie:_ ** _ sell it coward!!!! _

Work starts slow the next day and for the first two hours, Changbin hovers around Chan and Felix but once they get into their weirdly cute alien language discussions, Changbin decides to leave them before he gets diabetes. He joins Jisung and Hyunjin in the break room but regrets his decision immediately because diabetes is definitely a better choice than the absolutely ridiculous tension between those two.

Changbin tries his best to defuse the situation. “Just stop bickering for two minutes, jesus. Let’s just talk about a safe topic - what are you going to get for lunch?”

Hyunjin lets out a long sigh. “Fine. I’ll have some pizza I guess.”

There’s a snort from Jisung’s side. “Oh, here we go again - Mister I can eat whatever I want and still look great.”

“Says you, you’re skinny except for the muscles.”

They get into a strange argument that to Changbin just sounds like two guys yelling compliments passive aggressively at each other and he rolls his eyes at them, leaving the break room to see if Minho’s at work already.

He passes by Minho’s desk to find an unusually cheerful Minho smiling at him. “Good morning!”

Suspicious but at least he is in a good mood, Changbin thinks and gives him a small wave. “Good morning to you too. Woke up in a happy mood?”

Minho’s eyes flicker to Changbin’s arms for a moment and his smile falters. He doesn’t reply to Changbin’s question and it seems like the atmosphere around them went from sunny Hawaii to Siberian winter within a millisecond. Changbin wonders if he’s said or done something wrong but he honestly does not know what he could have fucked up with one sentence.

“Get me a coffee, please.” The request is stated devoid of any emotion and Changbin’s head is spinning - what the hell did he do?

Throughout the rest of the day, Minho is prickly like a hedgehog towards Changbin and eventually he just gives up trying to come up with an idea as to why that is and just does whatever Minho tells him to do.

The moment he unlocks the front door to his apartment, he lets out an exhausted sigh and kicks off his shoes, sinking down onto his couch a few seconds later.

Before he can turn on the tv, his phone rings and Changbin mentally slaps himself for forgetting that he promised to call his sister today.

“How is my favorite brother doing?”

“I’m your only brother.”

They banter a little back and forth on the phone and Changbin mentions that he works at the news station now which his sister responds enthusiastically to.

“So you’re working with the hot anchor? He’s very attractive. Is he single?”

Changbin doesn’t even know why he feels defensive all of a sudden but before he knows it, he huffs into the phone. “He’s not attractive. I mean, he’s very smart. He’s not just a pretty dude.”

He can practically hear his sister’s eye roll through the phone. “Okay, sure.”

There is a honk outside Changbin’s window and he ignores it at first but when the honking continues twice more, he promises his sister to call her back later and gets up to tell the idiot outside to stop honking at nine in the evening.

What he definitely does not expect is Minho standing next to an expensive car in his driveway, hand on the steering wheel to honk through the open window.

“What are you doing here?”

Minho leans with his back against his car and crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Why didn’t you wear it today? The watch I got you?”


	5. Of flowers & sticky notes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyall! :D
> 
> i finally got my lazy ass to write a bit more!  
> i promise i'll get better at updating more often once the probation time at my new job is over - it doesn't help that i started making music again for the first time in two years over the weekend so i didn't really write then :(
> 
> anyways! without further ado, i hope you like this one and i wish you all the freshest of days/nights! :D

Changbin has a very hard time controlling his facial expressions in response to Minho’s question. “The watch is from you?! Why did you give me a watch?”

Minho doesn’t really answer his question, just walks closer towards Changbin with a smirk on his face. “Go out with me.”

For a short moment Changbin thinks he’s being pranked or that he’s on some hidden camera show or maybe he’s just having a really strange dream but when he pinches the back of his hand he realizes that he is very much awake and there are no filming crews to be seen.

“Excuse me?”

Minho’s cocky smile doesn’t falter as he repeats himself. “Go out with me. On a date.”

Changbin can’t help but let out a confused laugh. “Hold that thought.”

He disappears back into his apartment and while his thoughts are still racing, preoccupied with the whole surrealness and ridiculousness of this situation, he grabs the box with the watch and joins Minho outside again.

He shoves the box at Minho’s chest who holds it to prevent it from falling to the ground with a confused look.

“I gave this to you as a present.”

“I don’t want it.”

First of all, Minho is moody and hard to read. He seems reckless and impulsive and distant and that’s not really what Changbin is looking for in a relationship. Secondly, this is probably just some elaborate prank Minho is pulling on him. And point number three - even if Minho is serious and wants to go out with him, his intentions are most likely more in sexual than romantic nature.

“The watch or the date?”

Changbin sighs and turns around to go back inside again, calling to Minho over his shoulder, “Both.”

**_Bini:_ ** _ guess who just pulled up outside my house and asked me out _

**_Lix:_ ** _ chris hemsworth? _

**_Sungie:_ ** _ psy? _

**_Lix:_ ** _ lady gaga? _

**_Sungie:_ ** _ the pope? _

**_Bini:_ ** _ minho _

**_Lix:_ ** _ OOF _

**_Sungie:_ ** _ OOF x2 _

**_Bini:_ ** _ he left the watch btw, i gave it back to him _

**_Lix:_ ** _ man awkward but good job, wouldnt wanna go out with the ice king _

**_Sungie:_ ** _ still better than hyunjin i guess _

**_Lix:_ ** _ i sweAR TO GOD HAN JISUNG- _

If Changbin thought the whole Minho situation would be forgiven and forgotten the next day, he was sorely disappointed about the rest of the week.

He comes back from lunch break early and is overjoyed about the fact that Jisung and Felix won’t be back in the office for another half hour because he is greeted with a ridiculously oversized bouquet of flowers on his desk and some of the other interns and assistants are gathered around it, gossiping.

“Who is your secret admirer, Changbin?”

Changbin is sure that his face must be bright red as he plucks the small card from the bouquet.

_ Go out with me x _

He crumples the card up and throws it in the trash, handing the bouquet over to the young girl interning for the sports commentators at the moment. “For you, enjoy.”

Towards the end of the day, Changbin drops some notes off at Minho’s desk who flashes him a bright smile when he sees Changbin. “Did you like the flowers?”

Changbin heaves a sigh. “I appreciate the thought but I don’t like gifts. And it’s embarrassing to receive such things at work.”

He makes sure to leave the company as quickly as possible after that, before his body and brain realize how awkward the whole situation is. Throughout the rest of the day, his mind is fully occupied with his former celebrity crush and the resident ice queen Minho seemingly being interested in him and he honestly is not sure how to feel about it. On one hand, Minho is ridiculously handsome and seems really nice and interesting in rare moments, but on the other he is also a cocky showoff in others and all Changbin really wants is just a nice down to earth guy he can watch movies on the couch with.

He decides not to tell Felix and Jisung about the whole incident for fear of further teasing and eventually falls asleep, mind heavier than it was when he woke up that morning.

Friday is from now on A Cursed Day - Felix, Jisung and Changbin are all sure of that, though for different reasons.

Felix got a papercut and Chan went into full Mom Mode trying to rush him to the hospital for it which Felix found both endearing and embarrassing and is now being mercilessly teased by literally everyone near him, all day.

Jisung arrived at work the same time as Hyunjin and started a fight before they even entered the building.

“Why would you even wear that shirt?! Are you trying to commit some kind of fashion crime?”

Jisung snorted at the attack and pointed a finger at Hyunjin’s chest when they entered the elevator up to their floor with Felix and Changbin. “You’re literally wearing the same shirt.”

“Yeah but it looks good on me.” The hair flip punctuated Hyunjin’s statement and he demonstratively took a sip from his coffee. “You shouldn’t wear something like this.”

“Oh yeah? So according to you I should just go shirtless to work?”

“Now there’s an idea.”

Before Jisung could come up with a response, the elevator doors opened and Hyunjin stepped out to walk to his desk, a sputtering and flustered Jisung following just behind him.

As for Changbin, well, clearly Minho misunderstood the point he was trying to make the day before. 

When he came back from lunch, what he found on his desk were neon pink sticky notes scribbled on in messy handwriting and as soon as Changbin saw a heart on one of them, he immediately cleared them off his table to prevent anyone seeing them.

Jisung and Felix went on a coffee run around three and Changbin used the chance to look through the now crumpled up notes.

_ You look good today ;) _

_ The glasses suit you, wear them more often x _

_ Stop by my desk - I’m bored :( _

_ Go out with me ♡ _

Right now, Changbin is sipping on the iced coffee Felix handed him five minutes ago, pushing his glasses further up on his nose. Felix insisted on all of them getting blue light blocking glasses two years ago since they constantly work in front of a screen and Changbin is really not sure if they even do anything, but he just found them again for the first time in months this morning and decided to wear them. Thinking of Minho’s notes, he kind of regrets that decision now. He glances around the office to make sure no one is watching him and quickly walks over to Minho’s office, giving a courtesy knock before walking in.

Minho once again smiles at him brightly and claps his hands together for a moment. “So you did see them!”

Changbin heaves a sigh. “Please stop doing this, it’s embarrassing. What if someone had read them?”

Minho blinks at him rapidly for a moment, a look of genuine confusion on his face. “I don’t mind.”

“But I do!”

He’s getting kind of frustrated with Minho - no one could be this clueless, right?

“Go out with me and I will stop giving you notes”, Minho responds, still smiling innocently.

If that’s what it takes to make Minho stop embarrassing him at work, he’ll bite the bullet.

“Fine.”


	6. Expensive taste

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone~~
> 
> i'm currently distracting myself from a mental breakdown by writing but also i'm slightly ~*~drunk~*~ so i hope this is legible
> 
> anyways! i hope you're all having a great day/night and take it easy! :D
> 
> lemme know what kind of genre/trope is your fav to read because i have a lot of ideas lined up atm and i'm not sure what to write first!

Honestly, Minho is not entirely sure why he is interested in his personal assistant. Maybe it’s because he sees Minho as not just a pretty face, or maybe it’s because he seems kind and funny, or maybe it’s because he is genuinely passionate about work.

Whatever it is, Minho likes him. And he wants, no, needs Changbin to like him to.

Now that Changbin has finally agreed to go out with him, he has another challenge to overcome though. Of course, he has been on dates before. But they were shallow and he’s never been genuinely interested in anyone, so he really wants to do this right.

This is exactly the reason why he is currently calling up Chan before he can even unlock the door to his apartment. Chan barely gets a Hello out before Minho explains what happened.

“So basically”, he kicks off his shoes and sinks down on his couch, “I asked out my assistant. Oh, and I guess he doesn’t want anyone to know, so don’t mention it. And now I need to plan a date. You always hang around the assistants, can you find out what kind of date he would like for me?”

There’s a minute of stunned silence on the phone before Chan replies.

“That’s a lot to take in all at once. I thought you didn’t want to date anyone from work?”

Minho hums in response. “Well, let’s just say he piqued my interest.”

“Okay but I don’t actually know him that well…”

“Just find out for me.”

And with that, the call is ended.

Jisung, Changbin and Felix are hanging out at Jisung’s place tonight and while Changbin and Jisung are arguing over what to watch on Netflix, Felix is busy pouring wine for all of them when Changbin yells for him from the living room.

“Lix, your boyfriend’s calling! Should I pick up?”

Felix dashes to the living room so quickly that he almost slips in the hallway to grab his phone and pointedly ignores Changbin’s sly grin.

“Hi Chan!”

He’d be lying if he said that he’s not nervous as hell and disappears back into the kitchen and away from Changbin and Jisung at lightning speed.

“I’m so sorry to disturb-”

“You’re not!” Okay, maybe he should play it cool a bit more.

There’s a little laugh on the other end of the line. “Well, uh, I just have a question. Uhm, don’t think too hard about it, I’m just asking because I haven’t been on any dates in a while so I’m just asking to know what’s, you know, hip right now. What’s the perfect date?”

Felix almost drops the wine bottle and sucks in a breath. Is Chan actually about to ask him out on a date? Is this really happening?

“I, uh- uhm, well-”

Very smooth. He takes a moment to take a deep breath and sits down on one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

“I guess a restaurant would be nice. You know, something nice and with good food or something?”

Chan hums and there’s a long pause, so long that Felix almost thinks Chan hung up on him. 

“I see. So a fancy restaurant… okay, thanks! Have a good evening, sorry again for disturbing you!”

And with that, he’s gone and Felix has whiplash.

Of course, Felix gets teased for a solid twenty minutes before there can even be any kind of normal conversation.

“So, when is the date?” Jisung is working his way through the bowl of popcorn that Changbin grabs from him with a glare and puts down on the coffee table for them all to share.

“Uhm, he didn’t actually ask me out…”

“I guess he wants to do it in person then”, Changbin thinks out loud and stuffs some popcorn into his mouth. “That’s good though, I’m happy for you. Even though a restaurant is kind of boring.”

Felix and Jisung’s ensuing responses happen in sync. 

“What do you mean, boring? A restaurant is nice!”

“It’s not boring… but a date at home would be nicer, more intimate I guess. I kind of agree with Bin.”

Changbin just shrugs at them. “I think the perfect date would be an amusement park. You get to do fun stuff together.”

Jisung waggles his eyebrows at him suggestively. “You can do fun stuff at home too.”

For the next five minutes, both Changbin and Felix boo at him and pelt him with popcorn until they finally pick a movie.

On Saturday morning, Changbin wakes up with mixed feelings. He hasn’t actually been on a date in a while and though the usual nerves about it are there, he’s also kind of apprehensive of seeing Minho outside of their workplace. He still takes his time getting ready in the afternoon and Minho lets him know he’s there at five thirty, honking outside his window again.

Changbin quickly slides into the passenger seat and Minho gives him a once over for a minute.

“You look good”, he mutters with an appreciative smile and starts driving.

The nerves are definitely getting stronger and Changbin fiddles with his hands nervously, not sure what to talk about.

“So… what are we doing?”

“You’ll see.”

Minho keeps his eyes on the road the entire time and the ride is spent in an awkward silence.

When Minho pulls into the parking lot, Changbin already feels underdressed. Though he did put a bit more effort into his outfit than he would for work, the people going into and out of the restaurant all look like they’re going to an Awards ceremony and for the first time he notices that Minho cleaned up even nicer than he does for tv broadcasts.

He hopes Minho doesn’t notice the blush on his cheeks that he can feel heating up already.

What Minho planned is apparently one of the most high class restaurants in the city and Changbin feels incredibly uncomfortable sitting in the pristinely white palace-like dining area. There’s more cutlery than he knows what to do with on the table and the entire menu is in French so he has no idea what to order.

He glances at Minho over the menu who looks at him with a raised eyebrow. “Need any help?”

“Uh… what’s good here?”

Minho chuckles at the question and grabs the menu from him. “Cute. Do you like meat?”

Changbin nods, feeling a bit like a child for a moment.

Within a minute, Minho flags down the waiter and orders for both of them and whatever it is sounds expensive to Changbin. The waiter returns a moment later, pouring wine for them both and Minho watches him with an expectant face as Changbin takes a sip. He’s never been much of a wine drinker but hey, he should get this over with at least.

“It’s good. I think. I don’t really drink wine.”

Minho’s face falls a bit. “Oh, I didn’t know. Sorry.”

The way he says it makes Changbin feel bad and he quickly takes another sip. “No, it’s fine! It’s actually pretty good.” It’s really not.

Another awkward quiet moment later and Changbin decides that he can’t deal with the weirdness anymore. “Can I ask why exactly you wanted to go out with me?”

Minho thinks for a moment, then sends him a wink across the table. “I like you, you’re cute.”

Thankfully the food arrives just then and the silence continues, though at least Changbin can keep himself busy by eating whatever it is that’s on the plate in front of him. It’s actually pretty good, though the atmosphere still makes him uncomfortable.

“Are you enjoying our date, Seo Changbin?”

The question rips Changbin from his thoughts and he quickly tries to swallow a too big piece of meat, washing it down with the wine and pulling a face.

“Honestly?” He takes a breath. Honesty is better than lying. “This is a bit much. I don’t really like… fancy stuff.”

Minho’s eyebrows furrow and he stares down at the table. “Oh.”

“But hey, the food is really good!”

He watches as Minho musters a weak smile. Maybe that was too much honesty?

The rest of the evening is even more awkward than it started out with and Changbin insists on paying half the bill which is way, way, way more money than he would ever spend on a meal.

Minho eventually drops him off at home again and they bid each other nervous goodbyes before Changbin watches him drive off into the night and enters his home with a heavy sigh. At least it’s over now.

Sunday is crisis day as it seems, because Felix calls Jisung and Changbin up in the afternoon and complains for almost an hour about Chan not contacting him at all about the whole date conversation. Jisung bluntly suggests him to just ask Chan out instead of waiting for him to do it but Felix just sputters on the other end of the line and Changbin has to bite his cheek so he doesn’t laugh at the response.

On Monday, Changbin is filling in as an assistant for the other news anchor as Minho apparently took a day off to visit family and has a much more relaxed time without having to take care of any strange displays of interests from Minho’s side.

On the other hand, now he has to deal with Jisung once again complaining about Hyunjin the whole day and he honestly wonders which of the two evils is worse.

“Can you believe it? He complains about a pimple as if it’s going to destroy his whole face. What a fucking dumbass, he knows he’s pretty and still he acts like this.”

Felix rolls his eyes at Jisung and focuses back on coming up with a plan on how to ask Chan out, since he finally gave in late in the evening yesterday during their group phone call. “Just make peace with him, you’re both clearly into each other.”

This time, Changbin can’t hold back his laugh at Jisung’s appalled face. “Excuse me?!”


	7. Second Try

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone!
> 
> hope you will like this one tho i struggled a lot with this :(
> 
> take it easy and have a good one!

Clearly, Chan was not good at figuring out a perfect date for Changbin. Which is why Minho spends the rest of the weekend and all of Monday whining about it to his parents who show very little understanding but Minho thinks that they’re really just annoyed he interrupted their fishing trip.

When he gets back to his apartment on Monday night, he has an idea. A great idea. An idea that Changbin will definitely like.

Tuesday, 11:03am. Changbin is complaining that he is starving and can’t wait for lunch break.

All it takes is a quick call to Minho’s favorite steak restaurant and he watches Changbin’s shocked face at the multiple boxes of meat when they get delivered to the office through the glass wall separating his office from the assistants’.

At first, Minho feels a giddy excitement at the happy face Changbin makes, though when he happily passes boxes around to the other assistants and everyone joins in to eat steak, his smile falters. This was supposed to be Changbin’s lunch, why would he just give it to the other employees?

The surprise arrival of tons of grilled meat is definitely a highlight of the day in Changbin’s mind and the other assistants are happy to join in on the incredible amounts of food. They must be doing something right for the company to give them a little present, right?

So the first plan didn’t work out for him exactly, but Minho is nothing if not persistent and determined. He just needs to make it more obvious that the present is coming from him.

Which is why he is waltzing into the office on Wednesday morning with an extra cup of coffee specifically for Changbin. He’s paid close attention to how Changbin makes his coffee in the break room and as he walks by Changbin’s desk, he puts on a charming smile.

Said smile disappears quickly when he sees Felix, who enters the office just before him with a coffee from the break room and hands it to Changbin.

Strike Two, he thinks as he sits down in his office, drinking a coffee that’s not strong enough for his taste and combs his brain for another idea.

Once again, Changbin finds himself standing outside of his building, staring down Minho in his driveway.

“You have to stop honking, you have my phone number. Just text me.”

Minho rolls his eyes at him but offers him a smile. “Go out with me again. One more chance, to make up for the terrible first date.”

Changbin really thought that after their awkward disastrous first date, Minho would give up the chase and Changbin could go back to just admiring him from afar - or from the other side of the office. Clearly this is not what Minho had in mind though.

“Why?”

Minho looks confused by the question. “Why what?”

“Why do you want to go out with me again?”

“I told you. I think you’re cute.”

Now it’s Changbin’s turn to roll his eyes and he’s about to turn around and go back inside when Minho speaks up again.

“I like you. I want to get to know you more.”

Changbin crosses his arms in front of his chest and wills his heart to stop fluttering that way. “Nothing fancy. And drop the cool guy act. Just be yourself.”

Minho has a strange feeling in his chest that could probably be described as a crush, but he is not a lovesick teenager and he hasn’t had genuine feelings for anyone in years so he refuses to call it that. He also definitely is not looking through pages upon pages of date ideas online all Wednesday night and he sure as hell is not sending Changbin on a wild goose chase at work on Thursday just to get some time to talk with Felix and Jisung alone in the break room.

“You want to go on a date with him?” Jisung’s doubtful look makes Minho feel more insecure than he should and he clears his throat.

“Yes. So is there something that Changbin really likes to do or-”

“Take him to an amusement park!”

Felix earns a slap on the arm from Jisung and an angry look but Felix silently just gestures him to shut up.

“He said he really likes amusement parks.”

And that’s really all Minho needed to know.

“Why would you tell him that?! We don’t like him.”

Felix snorts as he makes a coffee after Minho leaves them alone in the break room again. “You don’t like him. For the same reason you don’t like Chan - because you’re into Hyunjin and you don’t want to admit it to yourself and now you project your completely unnecessary hatred on Hyunjin’s coworkers.”

Getting hit with the truth renders Jisung speechless, not that Felix would even hear him over the sound of the coffee machine grinding coffee beans.

“And besides, Changbin should get lucky every now and then too, no?”

**_Minho:_ ** _ i’m picking you up at six, wear something comfortable x _

That’s really not a lot of information Changbin is getting here and so he just pulls on a t-shirt and jeans before he steps out the door at six, hoping to prevent Minho from honking again.

Minho still honks when he pulls into Changbin’s driveway and sees him standing there waiting.

When Minho stops his car at the parking lot close to the entrance of the amusement park, Changbin actually gets nervous. And not the awkward kind of nervous from the first date they had, more like the actual date kind of nervous.

“I hope you like amusement parks”, Minho mutters as he turns off the engine and unbuckles his seat belt. “Shall we go?”

They go on a number of roller coasters and other attractions and other attractions until their faces turn green and Minho even wins him a small stuffed animal from a shooting stand that Changbin accepts with undoubtedly pink cheeks. Eventually, Changbin is drawn to the huge ferris wheel and within a minute, they are situated on the small bench, rising slowly up into the air.

It’s dark outside now and Changbin can’t help but let out impressed noises at the city lights below them until he notices Minho tensing up next to him.

“Are you afraid of heights?”

“N-no…”

Changbin heaves a sigh. “You could have just said so before we went on this.”

“But you wanted to go.”

And that simple question is all it takes for Changbin’s heart to speed up and make him flush and with a rush of adrenaline he will definitely blame on the roller coasters, he grabs Minho’s hand and watches as Minho’s firmly shut eyes slowly flutter open.

“Nothing bad is going to happen, we’re safe.”

Minho nods slowly but Changbin can tell he’s still scared by how firmly he squeezes his hand, to the point of almost cutting off his blood circulation.

“Okay, just look at me instead of looking down.”

“But there’s only the sky behind you so I know we’re far up and-”

Honestly? Changbin doesn’t know how or why but he kisses Minho, probably mostly to just shut him up and distract him, though he kind of anticipates Minho pushing him away out of pure surprise, which doesn’t happen.

In fact, Minho pulls him closer, deepening their kiss in a way to forget about the height they are at and clutches at Changbin’s clothes, only letting go when the ride stops back at the ground.


	8. Seaside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!!
> 
> i can't wait for work to be over and have two days off :((
> 
> i hope you're all having a lovely start to the weekend! :D

Why on earth did he kiss Minho?!

Changbin tried to go to sleep two hours ago and he’s still tossing and turning in bed overthinking everything that happened earlier. Why the hell did he kiss Minho? And why did he not stop kissing Minho like a second later but kept their weird makeout session going for minutes?

He lets out a groan and shuts his eyes again. After the ferris wheel, they got some food which luckily distracted him from his embarrassment for a while and Minho actually was pretty comfortable and strangely… normal? He told him about how he’s an only child and always wanted siblings so he adopted cats that he deeply cares for. The whole thing made Changbin’s chest flutter a little and he just kept stuffing his face with fries. The ride home was extremely awkward for him, Minho on the other hand though seemed completely fine and wished him goodnight with a friendly wave.

It’s confusing, is what it is. Changbin doesn’t like confusing. He rolls over in bed once more and tries to will himself to sleep.

He gets woken up a few hours later by his phone ringing and when he checks the caller ID, his heart speeds up. With all the Minho Mess going on, he completely forgot that he’d made plans with his sister.

“Hey sleepyhead”, her chipper voice greets him when he picks up, “I’ll be there in thirty minutes to pick you up. I assume you forgot to set an alarm and haven’t packed yet so that’s why I’m calling you.”

“I-”

“Thought so. See you in a bit!”

Changbin is left sitting in bed wordlessly staring at his phone for a moment before he jumps into action and throws random stuff in a duffel bag. His sister wanted to take a weekend trip to the beach so they rented a little shack there for a night and Changbin convinced her to drive and pick him up as well as drive him back home on Sunday night. She offered to buy the groceries and stuff as well so really the only thing Changbin had to do was pack - which he didn’t do.

Twenty minutes later, there’s a honk outside and Changbin checks his watch while stuffing the rest of his clothes into the bag. That’s weird, she shouldn’t be here for another ten minutes.

When he looks out into the driveway through his window, his stomach twists. Oh no.

“What are you doing here?”

Changbin’s frantic greeting when he walks out into the driveway causes Minho’s cheerful expression to fade. He’s leaning against his car wearing a baseball cap and the contrast between businesslike model chic Minho and relaxed weekend Minho catches Changbin off guard.

“Good morning to you too.” Minho clears his throat nervously. “I wanted to pick you up for a surprise date.”

Okay, the streets are clear, his sister is not there yet. Minho raises an eyebrow at Changbin looking left and right down the street before he turns back to Minho.

“I have plans today. You can’t just show up out of the blue.” He tries to make it sound soft but can’t help but wince at how bluntly he phrased it.

Minho tilts his head to one side like a curious cat and Changbin really shouldn’t find it as cute as he does right now.

“What are you up to?”

Before Changbin can answer, his sister pulls into the driveway behind Minho’s car and sticks her head out of the window.

“Hi Binnie!” She pauses and cranes her neck a bit further to get a good look at Minho. “Oh my god, it’s you!”

Minho turns to her and does a little wave before he turns back to Changbin. “Is this your uhm… girlfriend?”

Changbin’s eyes widen at the question and his sister lets out a loud laugh.

“I’m his sister. Changbin wouldn’t have a gir-”

“We were just leaving!”

Changbin locks the door behind him and picks up the duffel bag that he put down on the doorstep when he went out to talk to Minho.

His sister raises an eyebrow at him. “Why don’t we invite Mr. Lee to come with us?”

Minho’s face immediately lights up and he nods. “I would love to! Call me Minho.”

Changbin’s sister winks at him. “Charming. Just follow my car.”

When they pull out of the driveway, Changbin glares at his sister with a huff while she turns up the volume on the radio and pointedly ignores his sulking.

As they grill meat outside their tiny rented beach house, Changbin is not sure what’s worse.

First of all, Minho is amazing at grilling meat because of course he is.

Secondly, his sister and Minho get along really well - too well, because she is currently telling Minho embarrassing childhood stories about Changbin while constantly flirting with Minho.

And third, he is jealous about it. And to be jealous, you have to have some kind of feelings.

Changbin sits at the table with his arms crossed in front of his chest nursing a beer while his sister lets out a laugh at something Minho has said and he tries his best not to glare at them.

Minho comes over for a moment to put a plate of food down in front of him with a smile.

“Your sister said you like meat more than vegetables so I put a lot.”

God damn Minho.

Minho learns a lot from Changbin’s sister. Apparently he’s very hard working and cheerful but clumsy and loud. He’s also, according to her, terrible at grilling meat, which is why Minho has taken it upon himself to make the best damn barbeque Changbin has ever tasted.

Somehow Changbin is constantly scowling and pouting and Minho can’t figure out what’s wrong, though as the day goes on and turns into evening and Changbin gets up to do the dishes, he joins him in the small kitchen to help.

“I can do it myself, go talk to my sister.”

He’s not used to Changbin being this crabby and lets out a confused noise against his will. “Why can’t I help? I’d rather be talking with you and you haven’t said a word to me since we got here.”

It kind of hurts to have Changbin be so cold to him and he doesn’t like the feeling.

“Just go! Let me do the dishes.”

And that’s the last thing Changbin says before he angrily starts to soap up a sponge.

“I didn’t know you two were actual friends!”

Changbin pauses before walking outside a little later, overhearing his sister and Minho’s conversation. He hovers in the dark hallway and decides to listen a little bit longer.

“We- I- I’m not sure if we are.”

“But you wanted to spend time with him on the weekend.”

There’s a hum from Minho. “I like your brother.”

“He is very likeable. I mean, he’s my little brother and he’s annoying, but he’s nice.”

He hears Minho clear his throat before he speaks again. “No, I mean I  _ like  _ him.”

“Ohhhhhhh…”

There’s an awkward silence for a moment and Changbin is about to walk out when he hears his sister start speaking again.

“Why do you like him?”

Her voice sounds more serious now, more stern. Overprotective in a way only an older sibling can be. Maybe she wasn’t flirting with him earlier.

“He’s attractive. And kind. He’s a good person.”

“Try harder.”

Another long pause followed by Minho speaking in a quiet voice, seemingly thoughtful. 

“He makes me be myself.”


	9. Late Nights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooooooooo~
> 
> we're nearing the end on this one!  
> on an unrelated note, i think my fiancee is leaving me for jisung, chan and felix soon :'(  
> is anyone else really excited for the variety show? i fuckign love variety shows so i. cant. WAIT!!!!
> 
> hope you like this chapter and i hope you have a super fresh day/night! :)

Before Changbin can think about it, his feet walk him out of the front door instead of joining his sister and Minho at the beach and he takes the nightly street outside for a short distance before he walks down and continues his walk on the beach, away from the other two.

Minho likes him. Actually likes him, not just superficially. 

The sea breeze feels cool on his skin and he realizes that he’s a little buzzed from drinking earlier, staggering a bit in the uneven sand below his feet.

_ He’s attractive. And kind. He’s a good person. _

Is this the same Minho that took him to a fancy restaurant and turns every serious situation into a cocky joke?

_ He makes me be myself. _

Or is that the version of Minho that got scared on the ferris wheel?

Changbin feels a bit lightheaded and he doesn’t pay attention to where he’s going, stumbling over a rock and falling to the ground with a soft thump. He groans as he props himself up on his elbows and checks his leg. There’s a scratch on his shin where he slid against the rock and his ankle kind of hurts.

For a while, he just sits there in the sand before lying down on his back, eyes fixed on the night sky above him, letting the sound of crashing waves wash over him and he heaves a sigh. He should have taken a cell phone, he has no idea how long he’s been gone for.

“Changbin?”

He knows that voice.As he lifts himself up again he sees Minho rushing towards him with a concerned face.

“What happened? Your sister and I were looking for you!” He crouches down next to Changbin and for some insane reason, Changbin feels like laughing, though he luckily holds it in. “Are you hurt?”

The worried tone in Minho’s voice makes the laughter die in Changbin’s throat. “No, I’m fine, I think.”

Minho raises a doubtful eyebrow and helps him up. “You must be cold, aren’t you cold? The breeze is pretty chilly, you didn’t even take a jacket…”

Changbin doesn’t say anything, just dusts the sand off his clothes and stares at Minho who looks him up and down, still checking to make sure he’s not injured. It does something funny to his heart.

“Can you walk?”

Apparently Changbin doesn’t answer fast enough because Minho just picks him up and hoists him onto his back, telling him to hold on tight as he shakily makes his way across the sand back onto the sidewalk.

“Why did you leave?”, Minho asks after a few minutes while he’s carrying Changbin back to the rental house. He can feel Changbin’s breath against his neck and the hum Changbin lets out sounds loud in the stillness of the night air.

“I don’t know.”

His sister gives him a whole lecture when they reach the rental again while Minho goes to get some disinfectant and kitchen towels to clean the scratch on Changbin’s shin.

Changbin is honestly too caught up in the surrealness of the situation when Minho dabs against the wound on his leg to even respond to his sister and she eventually gives up and goes to sleep.

Once Minho’s done cleaning up Changbin’s battle scar he looks back up at him and Changbin has to catch his breath for a moment. Minho’s hair is sticking up here and there from the wind outside and from carrying Changbin and the look on his face is so soft that it makes his insides twist.

“It’s already one, we should probably… go to sleep.”

Changbin nods dumbly and even though his leg is completely fine, he still lets Minho help him up. “You’re not usually this nice.”

“It’s the Changbin effect.” 

He expects there to be the usual familiar jokingly teasing expression on Minho’s face but Minho just looks relaxed, happy.

They end up sleeping on the floor mattresses, about a foot of space between them and Changbin just stares up at the ceiling, thoughts slowly flowing through his mind like a lazy river.

Minho is lying on his side next to him, watching Changbin, eyes slowly narrowing with sleep.

“Don’t run away. You have to let people know if you’re going somewhere. We were worried”, he whispers after a while and Changbin turns his head to see Minho with eyes closed, still turned towards him and a smile spreads across his face.

“Okay.”

_ ‘We’ were worried. _

Sun rays are tickling Changbin’s face in the morning and he lifts one of his hands to his face to block them out, curling further into his sheets.

He feels incredibly warm and nice, safe and happy, and lets out a content sigh when he realizes why. Minho’s face is pressed into the nape of his neck, his breath hot against Changbin’s skin, and his arms are curled around Changbin. Changbin’s head is resting on one of Minho’s arms while the second is slung around his waist, holding him close, hand holding Changbin’s, their fingers interlaced.

Changbin can feel a blush creeping onto his face at the realization of the position they are in and tries to inch away slowly, but Minho just lets out a sleepy grumble and pulls him even closer, Changbin’s back flush against Minho’s chest.

He can feel Minho slowly rubbing his nose against his neck and he knows he’s done for.


	10. What if I say no?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my friends!
> 
> I'm sorry it's been so long :(  
> Unfortunately I've had some stuff to work through these past days but I think I might be getting my groove back so I will do my best to return to regularly posting here!
> 
> This chapter is really short but I just didn't really want to drag this out any longer for our two lovebirds~
> 
> I hope you're all having a fantastic week! :)

Minho feels soft and warm and all around great. He feels toasty and comfortable and he never ever wants to move. Until he realizes that he doesn’t actually have any feeling in one of his arms and he’s forced to open his eyes, staring straight into darkness.

The darkness in question turns out to be Changbin’s hair, which in turn makes him realize that he apparently is currently spooning Changbin and he slowly lifts the arm that’s curled around Changbin’s waist, trying not to wake the other.

Changbin inches away slowly and Minho quickly closes his eyes again, pretending to still be asleep. What if Changbin is creeped out by him now?

When Changbin gets up to pick up a fresh set of clothes, Minho risks opening one of his eyes a little to see Changbin rifling through his duffel bag with red cheeks and messy bed hair. Cute.

The rest of the day is awkward for Changbin and happy for Minho while Changbin’s sister tries to figure out what happened between them.

She raises a thoughtful eyebrow when Minho gives Changbin some of his crispy breakfast bacon and he smiles at Changbin’s ensuing blush. She hums with suspicion when Minho grabs Changbin’s duffel bag from him and loads it into his car instead of her own while Changbin protests loudly. She wishes them goodbye when they leave the rental in the late afternoon with a smirk and tells Minho that she will chop his dick off if he hurts her brother.

Changbin is quiet while Minho is driving and stares out the window. The sun is slowly setting, coloring the sky in different pastel shades and he sighs quietly, listening to Minho singing along to the song on the radio under his breath.

For a while, they drive like this until Changbin sees a little lookout spot on the rocks over the ocean and asks Minho to pull over so he can get out and take a picture.

Minho gladly parks the car off the road and Changbin hops out before he even kills the engine. He doesn’t expect Minho to follow him to the lookout point and is focused on getting some nice shots of the sunset with his phone when Minho leans against his back and slings his arms around his waist.

Changbin lets out a yelp and almost drops his phone, catching it at the last second. Minho hooks his chin over Changbin’s shoulder and lets out an amused chuckle right next to his ear, his breath tickling Changbin’s neck.

“What are you doing?”

Minho hums and hugs him closer. “I have feelings for you, Seo Changbin. Go out with me. Please?”

Changbin pauses at the sound of Minho’s voice, low and quiet, more serious than he’s ever heard him. He remembers for a moment how he felt when he woke up, safe and protected and  _ loved _ .

He twists around in Minho’s grip so that they are face to face but Minho is not letting his arms drop around Changbin’s waist, holding him close still.

“What if I say no?”

There’s a teasing undertone in his voice and for a moment Minho looks kind of sad before he picks up on it.

“Then I guess I will just have to ask you out until you say yes.”

Changbin snorts and leans forward, tilting his head up to press their lips together in a short and gentle kiss. Minho lets out a sigh when Changbin breaks it and leans back.

“Please don’t.” He gives him a smile that Minho warmly returns. “I guess I’ll just have to date you to prevent any more flowers or sticky notes.”


End file.
